The red sore throat of children is a real scourge for most parents. The child is dragged to the doctors, looking for all kinds of means and ways to reduce the number of cases of throat disease, but often all in vain. The famous pediatrician and TV presenter Yevgeny Komarovsky tells about why it hurts in children and what to do for mothers and fathers.
Komarovsky about the problem
Everyone knows how a sore throat manifests itself. The child refuses to eat, because swallowing gives him unpleasant sensations, and sometimes it is almost impossible to give him tea or compote. However, few parents have an idea of exactly what processes occur in this case in the child's body.
The mucous membrane of the larynx has a lot of nerve endings, which is why the spectrum of sensations with an inflammation of the throat is so wide - from tickling and tingling to acute pain, which does not allow speaking and eating normally. Inflammation is usually caused by viruses, less often bacteria. There is one more reason - allergens from the outside (dirty air, household chemicals, etc.).
According to the statistics cited by Evgeny Olegovich, 85% of cases of pain and redness in the throat are acute pharyngitis, in some cases - angina. Another 5% are bacterial lesions. The remaining 10% are allergic reactions, external irritants, poisonous vapors, toxins, dirty air and mechanical damage to the larynx.
There are many reasons, but there is only one way out - to act and not wait for everything to pass by itself. Komarovsky recommends not to ignore the baby's throat complaints in any way.
Procedure
Peace. The best thing that mom and dad can do is to provide the child with a calm rhythm of life, exclude or significantly limit outdoor games, make sure that the child is more silent and speaks less. This will reduce the stress on the inflamed organ.
Drink. The drinking regimen should be switched to active mode, and the drink itself must be warm and abundant. Even if it is painful for a child to swallow, you should drink it a little, with a teaspoon or a tablespoon, but always in sufficient quantity.
Microclimate. The correct climate in the apartment will contribute to your recovery. There is no need to wrap your baby up in a few cotton blankets and put several heaters around the bed. Air temperature - should be at least 18 and 20 degrees, and air humidity at 50-70%. The second parameter is extremely important so that the mucus in the throat does not dry out, especially if the baby has a runny nose and breathes through the mouth, since drying out of the mucous membrane can cause serious inflammation and complications.
Nutrition. Chop food as much as possible, for example, with a blender. It should not be thick and contain large hard fragments. Salty and sour foods, soda should be completely excluded from the diet of a sick baby.
Treatment according to Komarovsky
The best treatment is rinsing. Evgeny Olegovich claims that for this you can use sage herb or pharmacy chamomile flowers. However, there are several nuances here. The child should already be at the age when he knows how to gargle. Then the procedures can be repeated every 2-3 hours. Too frequent rinsing, which some moms and dads "sin" with, who believe that the more often the better, can lead to additional irritation of the larynx. Measure is good in everything.
If the baby does not know how to gargle, Komarovsky advises not to torture him, but to use pharmacy antiseptics, which can be given in the form of a lozenge or splashed down the throat.
One of the safest and most effective drugs Evgeny Komarovsky calls "Faringosept", but these tablets are not suitable for babies under 3 years old, since they practically do not know how to dissolve the drug, and they strive to chew it as soon as possible.
Compression for sore throat is a rather dubious method, says Komarovsky, since the harm from it can be much more than the potential benefit. For example, warming compresses for sore throat is the right way to get to the hospital and treat severe inflammation for a long time, which became more after warming up the throat. Compresses should not be given to children with increased body temperature.
How to properly treat a sore throat, doetor Komarovsky will tell in the next video.
Causes for alarm
Yevgeny Komarovsky warns that a sore throat is a serious symptom, and it does not always make sense to try to cope with the problem on your own.
It is necessary to call a doctor as soon as possible if the child has a high temperature (above 38 °), if it becomes difficult for the child to breathe, if the ear additionally hurts, there are strong wheezing when inhaling, and nausea appears.
Urgent medical care also requires a sharp increase in the size of the tonsils, the appearance of a white coating on them, as well as the appearance of pain and some swelling in the joints, severe headache, rash. So, if it only tickles, you can rinse. If additional symptoms appear, call a doctor.
Red throat and loose throat
If the doctor says “red throat,” sane parents who remember anatomy lessons in school should clarify exactly what they are talking about. The larynx, trachea, muscles, and the initial part of the esophagus can also turn red with inflammation. Accordingly, such a "red throat" needs to be treated in different ways. It is impossible to make a correct diagnosis based on redness alone, Komarovsky believes. It is imperative to analyze the accompanying symptoms.
If the child has a sore throat and the diagnosis is confirmed, it may require antibiotic treatment.
In all other cases, Komarovsky does not advise rushing with therapy at all. Perhaps you just need to give your throat a rest, do not shout, do not talk loudly, and everything will return to normal. The fact is that the baby's delicate neck can turn red from a loud cry. In this case, it should be treated only with rest. If the redness was preceded by an injury or burn, you can immediately start rinsing, just not with a saline solution, as most parents believe, but exclusively with decoctions of herbs. Salt can increase irritation.
Doctor's diagnosis "loose throat" which mothers often hear from their district pediatricians does not exist in medicine at all. This is a pseudo-medical semi-diagnosis, says Komarovsky. Doctors say this when they observe an excessive amount of lymphoid tissue on examination. And, as a rule, this term is used when it comes to chronic tonsillitis. In this situation, it is not streptococci, fungus or viruses that are "guilty" of everything, but weak local immunity.
When else can your throat hurt?
In babies under 1 year old, the most common cause of sore throat is viral infections. They do not need to be treated with antibiotics, says Yevgeny Komarovsky, since antimicrobial agents that successfully deal with bacteria do not affect viruses in any way.
If the red throat is accompanied by the appearance of a rash in the form of watery blisters on the hands, feet, and also in the mouth, we can talk about the Coxsackie virus.
Throat problems are accompanied by infectious mononucleosis, various injuries of the larynx, which is not so uncommon, considering how often children drag everything that lies badly into their mouths.
Viral lesions do not need any treatment, you can only gargle to relieve the condition a little. Usually, such ailments go away by themselves in a week or a little more.
However, if the pediatrician takes a swab from the larynx and finds streptococci in it, then a diagnosis of angina will be made, and there will be serious antibiotic treatment, from which parents in no case should give up if the health of their beloved child is dear to them.
Prevention
There is no special prophylaxis for sore throat, it is entirely aimed at strengthening the general immunity of the child, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. This is the right way of life, and active sports, private walks in the fresh air in any weather, and hardening, which can be started from birth.
It is the throat that can be hardened in a very tasty way, which will be appreciated by boys and girls of any age. Komarovsky recommends giving children ice cream. First, a teaspoon, then a tablespoon, and then a portion. It is also helpful to freeze fruit juice in the freezer and let the children suck it up. This is both tasty and healthy, as it increases local immunity.
Watch the program of Dr. Komarovsky about the red throat - you will learn many of the nuances.
